Final Fantasy: The Cetra's Guardian
by Lorraine Redheart
Summary: A Turk, caught in the web of intruige that is the ShinRa co. at it's height, becomes part of the Jenova project and eventually loses herself ...Set before the events of the game proper:characters include an OC, Vincent, Lucrecia and Hojo. Harr.
1. Prologue

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The Cetra's Guardian

_The story of Miya Daggerfall_

_A Final Fantasy VII fanfic by L. Redheart_

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_Dedicated to Jamie and the greatest love story never told_

_And to the crew for being there for me when I needed you most_

_I don't own any of the characters from FF VII, but Miya, the Boss, Elaine, Leon and Regulus are mine, as is the plot. Please R&R!_

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Prologue

It is dark outside, as a group of friends sit in a circle around a large fire. The town around them, built into the red rock of a large canyon, is silent, asleep. Only the crackle of the large camp-fire and the quiet talking interrupts the peace of that place of learning.

There are nine of them, sitting around that fire in the centre of Cosmo Canyon. To many, they are familiar as the group who started off as an anti-Shin-Ra terrorist group known as AVALANCHE, but ended up saving the world from the threat of Meteor.

Cloud Strife, ex-SOLDIER if only in his mind, is their reluctant 'leader'. He wishes he hadn't come to this gathering, but Tifa Lockhart, the young woman sitting next to him, insisted that he attend. It's been a year since their adventure ended, and the friends have drifted slowly out of touch. Tifa wanted to "catch up with what everyone's been doing", and once that martial artist makes her mind up there's no stopping her.

Yuffie Kisgarai, the chirpy young woman next to them, grins and holds up a shining yellow orb, examining it in the glow of the firelight. She's not really sure why she's there, but she doesn't care. Who cares, when it means she can look at Cloud's materia again? She ignores Cid Highwind, the grizzled airship pilot next to her, as he harps on about designs for his new airship.

Barret Wallace and his adoptive daughter Marlene are on the other side of the fire, Marlene talking happily to Reeve, who has decided to keep his stuffed cat form. But now he sits on the shoulders of the long-suffering Red XIII, the flaming red wolf-like creature who is the only denizen of Cosmo Canyon present, rather than the giant mog he used as his transport before.

The final member of the group sits apart, staring out at the starry sky This man is Vincent Valentine, the dark-haired, solemn man who was once a member of the Turks. He says little, until suddenly Tifa turns directly to him and says;

"Vincent, for heaven's sake what is bothering you this time? You're being more silent than usual."

Vincent turns to her with a sigh, knowing he will be forced to explain his thoughts.

"I was ... remembering."

"Ooh, ooh, a story?" Marlene interjected excitedly, fidgeting in her adoptive father's lap.

"You've got to tell us now, Vincent!" Yuffie exclaimed with a grin, and Vincent resigned himself to his sudden new role as story-teller.

"I was remembering a time, long before I met you all, a time when I was still in the Turks. There was a girl, one you know well, Tifa." Tifa gasped in surprise before settling into a more comfortable position, leaning her head gently on Cloud's shoulder.

"Are you going to tell us her story?"

"If you will help me." the solemn ex-Turk said with a nod, and Tifa smiled.

"Of course. I know parts you don't, after all."

And the tale that Miya had told to her two friends unfolded, Tifa's insights giving an interesting twist to Vincent's recounting of a truly unique tale ...


	2. Chapter 1: The Road to Midgar

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_Chapter 1 - The Road to Midgar_

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Midgar.

City of a thousand dreams. The capital city of the whole world, in many peoples' eyes, and the headquarters of the Shin-Ra Electric Power Company.

Here, many stories begin and end every day. Thousands of people, whether they live on the plate or down in the slums, living, dying, dreaming. And all using the Mako energy Shin-Ra so thoughtfully provided for them to make their miserable, drab lives that bit better.

But forget about Midgar for now, for our story begins a little way outside this metropolis, out on the plains surrounding it. There is little here save rocks and monsters, and few ever survive this path into the city, yet there is a girl quite happily picking her way across the plains without a care in the world.

This girl could not be more than fifteen, sixteen years old at most. Though at first glance she seemed older due to the confident way in which she strode across the plains, her slender, almost boyish figure and the slight awkwardness in the way she held her very large sword gave her youth away.

Although she could certainly handle that sword, regardless of its size. Any one of the countless monsters in that desolate wasteland that had attacked her as she progressed had fallen before her blade in mere seconds.

The girl suddenly looked around cautiously, flicking her hair out of her face and squinting at the distant horizon. She could sense that there was something there, but whatever it was, it was keeping itself well hidden.

Frowning, the girl sped up, her steel-capped boots pounding across the packed dirt as fast as she could go. Whatever was behind her was keeping pace, however, and the girl could feel her legs tiring. She knew she would soon be forced into a battle, and swore to herself. Scenery flew by her so fast it was a brown blur, but the girl didn't care. She'd seen enough beautiful views in her home town to last her a lifetime, and from what she'd seen so far the area outside Midgar, the city she was hanging all her hopes on, wasn't all that exciting. She found herself wondering, despite herself; what had happened to make all the vegetation for miles around just up and die?

Her eyes scanned the area in front of her carefully, desperately searching for a point where she would have a good advantage in a fight. Nothing but rocks! She cursed this far-off land and it's lack of trees to hide in.

"Just adapt!" she scolded herself. "Remember what grandpa said!"

What had grandpa said to her, just before he left her last training session? Ah yes - "You are always the master of your circumstances, my girl." That was it!

With a flash of inspiration, the girl had an idea of how she could defeat this unseen menace. Tensing the muscles in her legs, she sprung up into the air and landed neatly on a large, flat-topped rock directly in the middle of the path, spinning in mid-air so she was facing back the way she had come.

"Come get some, punk." she muttered, fiddling with her sword until the blade part dismantled in her hands, revealing a shining (and very sharp-ended) silver revolver, which she pointed down the path at the oncoming thing, her forehead creased in deep concentration.

Then suddenly ... nothing. The things she'd sensed were gone, not leaving so much as a trace behind them.

"Hm." she muttered, her eyes flitting from rock to rock anxiously, but there wasn't even the slightest sign of movement.

She sighed and looked up at the city, looming large above her. She was here. The city she had dreamt of for so long was finally before her. With a giggle of pure joy, she spun around and ran towards the city gates and the future that awaited her there.

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That was the first time I ever saw Miya Daggerfall, on that sunny day so very long ago. She hasn't really changed, in all the years I've known her, at least not on the outside. Back then, I was a member of the Turks, and we had been sent after her since our boss saw her in Kalm. We were those things she had sensed; myself and a few others from our ranks. We knew she had power - she positively radiated it, which was very rare - and it was that power our boss wanted. She was going to be tested, and if she passed she would be inducted into our ranks. A dubious glory, at best, for such a young girl; what other paths had we deprived her of by forcing her into a life of battle? I would later find out that she was only fifteen, and had every intention of becoming a mercenary anyway, though that does not excuse any of us for what we did.

To continue ...

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Miya gaped, walking through the slums in a positive daze. Everything was so huge, so busy. Back home, everyone had known who she was, everyone stopped to say hello to each other in the street. But here, no one said anything to each other, they all just dashed around, hustling and bustling. Every time Miya tried to stop someone to ask directions to the nearest inn, she got ignored. People looked at her as if she was some sort of vermin, glaring at her for a little while before rushing past as if she didn't exist.

After she'd been knocked down for the fifth time, Miya gave up. She sighed and sat down on a rock near what looked like an abandoned church. She clutched at her stomach as it growled loudly, suddenly realising how hungry she was and that she didn't have any food or really any Gil to sustain herself with. Fighting back tears of frustration, she rummaged in the pockets of her trousers. All she found was the pretty blue materia that was her mother's only keepsake and a single Gil. This wasn't much help to her, as she had no intention of ever selling that materia to anyone, and one Gil wasn't really going to get her anywhere.

She was so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she didn't notice the young man approach her until he was standing right in front of her.

"You seem to be in a bit of a predicament there." he said in a quiet voice. Miya's head shot up abruptly, and her slightly damp eyes were greeted by the front of a smart black suit with silver buttons. Frowning, she looked up into a pair of dark red-brown eyes, partially obscured by a neat mop of hair, jet-black like her own. In fact, this man could pass for Miya's older brother, he looked so like her.

"What's it to ya?" she snapped, wiping her eyes with her sleeve and glaring at the man. She hated anyone seeing her in a moment of weakness, and hated anyone seeing her cry even more.

"Well, how can I pass by a little girl crying?" the man said without even cracking a smile, squatting down so he was closer to her level. He probably would have knelt if the ground wasn't so dirty and covered in trash; as it was the dark-suited man just looked silly squatting down, but Miya barely noticed in her fury.

"I ain't a little girl!" she snapped, looking the young man square in the eye, her whole face blazing with pure anger. The one thing that got to her most was being called a little girl - she always prided herself on her independence and ability to act as a true adult. She thought the huge sword strapped across her back would convince people she was no kid! "And I'm not crying!"

"My apologies, miss. I did not mean to offend." the man replied, standing up with his hands in the air in a traditional gesture of peace. Miya stood up in her turn, dusting herself off and examining the man warily.

"What do you want?" she said, and the man just looked at her, his face solemn, and held out a hand to her.  
"We want to help you."

"Who's 'we'?" Miya said, folding her arms in a silent challenge.

"Ah, so you're a smart one. 'We' are the Turks." the man replied with a flippant gesture. "Ever heard of Shin-Ra co.? Or the Turks?"

"Of course I have." Miya snapped, though she was slightly awed. Everyone back home had heard of Shin-Ra of course, and the Turks too - they'd been the ones sent to investigate when Miya's parents died twelve years ago, since they thought the Daggerfalls had been interfering with their plans for a Mako reactor there.

Which, Miya admitted, they had been in a way. Though Miya had only been three at the time, her grandfather had later told her that Elaine and Leon had made a great discovery just before they died. They had, in fact, discovered the secret Shin-Ra project on the isle of Mideel, where they intended to set up a Mako reactor to suck the Lifestream's power from it's most abundant source. However the Lifestream would have none of this, and Miya's parents sacrificed their lives to stop Shin-Ra's plans.

And there was the fact that her grandfather had once been a member of Shin-Ra's army. That was why he was so obsessed with fighting and skill, and why Miya had had such a military upbringing.

Miya suddenly realised that the man had been talking to her and she hadn't listened to a word he was saying.

"-so will you come with me? Just for a little while?" the Turk asked, looking down at her with an almost quizzical look on his face.

_Well, what can it hurt?_ Miya thought, and she shrugged, following after the mysterious dark Turk as he walked in the direction of a stone wall with a large, rough hole blasted in it as a makeshift gateway. As usual, Miya had completely disregarded common sense and was following her instincts just like her grandfather had taught her. But anything was better than sitting on that lump of rock feeling sorry for herself.

"Be cautious." the man said as they approached the entrance, which had a stylised "6" painted in white just beside it.  
"Why?" Miya asked, peering around her companion's lanky frame and looking at the area before her. It was a wasteland of broken machinery and fragmented tarmac, and Miya could sense many presences there. Monsters, maybe, or possibly people.

"This is Sector 6. Things are dangerous, here in the slums." the Turk said. Was that a hint of sadness, maybe regret in his voice? It was, from what Miya had gathered, a very rare thing for an employee of Shin-Ra to feel sorry for the people who lived in poverty. Or at least, for one to let it show anyway.

"Hmph. I'm not scared of a few monsters." the young woman scoffed, stepping around her guide and striding out into the deserted area with her head held high.

"Wait!" the man called after her, running to catch her, a pistol suddenly appearing in his hand. He had just seen what Miya had sensed before - the large dog-like monster pouncing from the shadows, heading straight for Miya.

Just before it seemed too late, Miya unsheathed her sword and spun around, slashing the monster open clean through the middle. The Turk just stared on in amazement.

"You really are good." he admitted, slipping his pistol into its holster. "And that's some sword you've got there."

"It's called Reaver." Miya replied, biting her bottom lip as she hefted Reaver into a more comfortable position. Using a sword that's almost as long as you are has major difficulties sometimes.

"Well, shall we continue?" the Turk said, pretending to be unruffled as he continued down the path.

Miya giggled, enjoying teasing this solemn young man. Why was he so uptight? She determined to find out before they parted ways - it had been such a long time since anyone besides her grandfather would talk to her as if she were a normal person, and it was rather refreshing to be able to tease someone and have them react normally.

After what seemed forever to the tired girl, the pair reached their destination, a building bigger than any Miya had ever seen. It was enormous! She couldn't even see the top as she stood on the steps and shaded her eyes, her head thrown back so she could see higher. The top of the building disappeared into the clouds; it was truly an amazing spectacle. Was this the result of the Shin-Ra's experiments with Mako, the power of the Lifestream?

"Impressive, isn't it?" her guide said in his deep voice, and Miya could only nod in reply. "Well, let's go inside. We cannot keep the boss waiting."

Wondering who the "boss" was, Miya walked into the foyer of the Shin-Ra Building behind the dark-haired Turk. A pretty secretary took one look at the Turk and asked for a badge, which he presented instantly, pulling it from his breast pocket in one fluid movement. Miya caught the edge of it from the corner of her eye - so his name was Valentine. Miya had only just realised that her would-be rescuer hadn't even told her his name. How rude! But what a romantic name! "Valentine". It sounded full of mystery and adventure to Miya's ears, and she was hoping to stick with her handsome protector for a while longer.

"And this is?" the secretary drawled suddenly, jerking her head in Miya's direction.

"Brought here on the Boss' orders."

That seemed to be enough for the woman, who nodded and let the pair past.

"Who's the Boss?" Miya whispered , gently tugging Valentine's jacket sleeve.

"My boss." Valentine replied with a shrug and a faint sarcastic smile.

"Well, he must have a name!" Miya added, hoping to squeeze more information out of him about her fate, but she had no such luck with this taciturn man.

"Nice try. You'll meet him shortly." Valentine said, looking at Miya with what looked like a half-amused twitch of the eyebrow. _Aha_! Miya thought triumphantly. He _does_ have a human side under the disdainful mask!

The pair got into a large elevator, where there was another Turk, presumably having been made aware of their arrival.

"Well done, Valentine." he said. This one was a tiny bit older than Miya's dashing Valentine, with long dark grey hair that was uncharacteristic in someone so young. He had an aura of great power about him, and was clearly not to be trifled with. "You got her."

"Hmph." was Valentine's only reply, shrugging as if to indicate he wasn't too interested in what the other young man had to say.

"So, what's your name, little lady?" the second Turk asked Miya after a long, awkward silence. Miya flushed bright red at the sudden attention, unused to the enclosed space and proximity to other people.

"Miya. Miya Daggerfall."

"Whaaat?" the second man cried, shying back. "Valentine, why didn't you say she was the last Daggerfall!"

"I didn't know." Valentine replied blandly. "What does it matter?"

"You mean you don't _know_!" the other yelled, his eyes popping out of his head. Miya frowned and put her hands on her hips, wondering why her name was kicking up so much fuss.

"Of course I know. But things can change, Verdot." Valentine said, giving his colleague a hard look. Miya was completely confused, but the tension was broken by their arrival at floor 60.

"Ah, we've been waiting." a tall, yet rather pudgy man said, standing outside the elevator with his arms folded across his large chest. "Welcome, Miss Daggerfall, to Midgar." He said, with a look on his face that said that Miya was somehow familiar to him.

Miya couldn't speak. This man had a very commanding presence, and she felt so small and insignificant, a feeling she wasn't used to and didn't think she liked very much. The man was clearly a leader, with slicked-back blonde hair and an expression that brooked no nonsense, and the fifteen-year-old girl had only ever seen that expression on one other person - her grandfather when he was in "general mode". Judging from the way Valentine and the man named Verdot were acting, Miya assumed the man was the man Valentine had referred to as his boss.

Screwing up all her courage, Miya gave this man her most imperious look, holding her head high. She would not be treated like a little girl, not any more. She'd had more than enough of that, enough to last her two lifetimes.  
"Why did you guys bring me here?" she asked, forcing her voice to remain level and calm.

"Why, surely you have guessed?" the older man said, smiling down at her. "We want you to _join_ us here at Shin-Ra, Miya. Would you like to be a Turk? Would you like to work for me?"

"Why me?" Miya asked suspiciously as they walked down a corridor towards yet another elevator. Despite herself, she found herself being amazed that they weren't on the top floor yet. That elevator ride had seemed to take forever!

"Because we have seen your power. You may be young, but you are almost as advanced as some of our senior members. That is no small feat."

Miya pondered for a little while. She was still very tired, but her eyes had lit up. This was her chance to get her hands on the information about her parents' deaths! Maybe, if she got high enough up the career ladder, they'd let her do some digging into their files.

Though of course, her main motivation was the idea of earning some money and having somewhere to stay. That was definitely appealing to the girl at that point.

"Sure. Why not?"

She could have said no. That was what tortured her for years afterwards. That was the one point where she could have turned away, told the Boss no, she wouldn't join up. Then she would have lived a life free of the horrors that Shin-Ra inflicted upon her.

But she said yes.

"Excellent!" the Boss boomed as they reached the top floor. It was a spacious area with a large desk at the back where a large young man with slicked-back blonde hair was sitting, smoking a large cigar. "Ah! Son! Good thing you're here, I have someone you'd like to meet." he continued, and the blonde man turned around, focusing his piggy eyes on the group.

"What is it now, old man?" he snapped, before his gaze fixed on Miya. Clearly the girl was familiar to him, as his reaction was identical to his fathers'. "She looks very much like General Daggerfall."

"You knew my grandfather?" Miya blurted before she could stop herself.

"Why yes," the Boss replied, ignoring the furious look this provoked from his son. "The good General was one of our more ... _useful _soldiers. And it seems you, my dear girl, have inherited his strength."  
"He trained me himself." Miya said proudly, her chest puffing out a little. She knew that her grandfather had been a good soldier, but to have personally known President Shin-Ra and his son? Now she was actually proud of the upbringing the harsh old man had given her, rather than angry at him for what he did to her.

"Indeed? Well, you should do fine here then. Why don't you go with Verdot and Valentine, they'll show you where you'll be staying."

"Yessir!" Miya said with a smart salute. Darn! She'd need to shake off that military attitude if she planned on staying here.

"C'mon kid, let's scat before he gets angry." Verdot hissed, gently tugging Miya's arm and pulling her down the stairs, with Valentine sauntering along behind them. The young girl had to forcefully stop herself from sneaking looks at him over her shoulder.

"_Man, he's _gorgeous" she thought, looking back at the taciturn young man. His red-brown eyes met hers for half a second, and that was all it took. She was smitten, in that little school-girl way that all girls are at one point in their lives, and there was nothing she could do about it.

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I would just like to point out that I had no idea about any of that. Apparently Miya saw fit to confide that bit of information to Tifa but keep it from me. As far as I was concerned, she was just a new recruit for me to look after. That's all.

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After yet another interminably long ride in the elevator - very awkward as Verdot kept giving Miya funny looks the whole way - the threesome found themselves in a spacious corridor with a somewhat nauseating blue patterned carpet.

"Welcome home." Verdot said sarcastically, sweeping a hand through the air to indicate the whole area. "This is where we Turks hang out."

"Shut up Verdot." Valentine said, stepping past the other two and shaking his head in a world-weary fashion. "Let's just show Miya to her room. She's got a difficult time ahead of her, and she'll need her rest."

Miya stared at the back of the dark-haired man's head incredulously, her hands firmly on her hips.

"Hey whoa, what's this about a hard time, bucko?" she frowned, provoking a sigh from the enigmatic Valentine.

"Did you really expect training to be easy?" he said, as Verdot gently shoved the tired girl towards a nearby door, which slid gently open as all the doors in the Shin-Ra building did. "That's the ladies' quarters. You've only got Maria for company, but I'm sure you'll get on fine. See ya tomorrow!"

And with that, Valentine and Verdot walked off down the corridor, leaving Miya to her fate and this mysterious "Maria".


End file.
